Reflections of a Closet Genius
by Lunamione Lovegranger
Summary: Hermione is finally tired of her inferior classmates by the end of her 7th year and wishes for something more. Can she find more in Severus Snape?
1. Chapter 1

_Why have I put up with these insultingly easy classes for so long?_

This question echoes through my head as I go through the motions, walking from class to class. I don't even take notes anymore as the professors seem to move through quicksand, searing every piece of information into my brain even before they proceed to repeat everything. I keep my eyes from sinking closed and staying so through some semblance of respect for the professors' subjects. Don't get me wrong, I know they are brilliant people, experts in their respective fields. My frustration truly lies with my so-called "peers". They are the reason our highly knowledgeable professors feel a necessity to dumb everything down so completely that I wonder how they can stand teaching. These are NEWT-level courses after all; they should expect us to keep up with the material. Yet our professors insist on treating us as though we were first-years, brand-new to magic and totally clueless. We have been through war, even the most immature of us forced to grow up in a short amount of time. Our class is greatly diminished, due in part to the number of deaths in that final battle against Voldemort, but also due to many of our classmates taking the honorary diploma offered to over-age 7th years who did not wish to repeat or complete their final year. (Harry and Ron were of this group, choosing to progress straight to their Auror training programs.) Those of us who remained most definitely should not be treated as naive little innocents. Still, our professors continued to do so.

Except Severus Snape. He alone challenged me, pushing the class along at a standard worthy of a NEWT-level course. He did not tolerate sub-standard or bare-minimum work. He is insulting and critical, but only in words. He does not insult intelligence by making things easier. His words may be harsh, but they are never untrue, merely exaggerated. In fact, this year they seem to be lacking his usual venom and I find the new dry sarcasm refreshingly amusing. The rest of my classmates appear to have missed this shift, too absorbed by their habitual fear of him, along with some other changes. He looks as though he has been eating healthier and I can tell that he is almost completely stress free. He is relaxed and - dare I even think it - content. With the harshness of war and the stress of keeping up appearances with Voldemort gone from his entire being, he is even -

No. I cannot think like that. He would never, could never, return such affection. I would be a fool to think otherwise.

And yet...

I am almost done with school. It would no longer be inappropriate. And if I am being perfectly honest with myself, well, it's too late. I am already attracted to him, his striking appearance, sexy voice, and dizzying intellect all pulling me deeper and deeper down this pit into which I have fallen. I have been falling for him all year, but only now have I allowed myself to admit it. Only now that Headmistress McGonagall has offered me a job as the Arithmancy professor, beginning next year. Perhaps I can get to know him in the month before school when all of the professors are at Hogwarts preparing for the start of the school year. Yes, that is precisely what I will do.

There; now I have a plan.


	2. Chapter 2

Graduation has come and gone. I spent my summer relaxing in the garden outside my flat, visiting Harry and Ron at Grimmauld Place and, of course, preparing for the start of the school year. As the day I was to leave for Hogwarts approached, I grew more and more anxious. Would I be truly be able to teach and control my classes? Would I feel completely inexperienced and inept next to my fellow teachers? And most of all, did I have the courage to approach Snape? I knew Harry and Ron did their best to try and cheer me up and relieve some of my stress, but it is simply part of who I am. I have to worry and plan and over-prepare. Otherwise, the stress consumes me; this is my way of moving beyond that and remaining functional.

Finally, it was time to return to Hogwarts. I was so nervous that I could not eat a bite at breakfast. I spent the morning going over all my notes and my packing one final time (or, more accurately, five final times). At last it was time for me to meet Headmistress McGonagall at Hogwarts. I gathered up my small trunk and Apparated to Platform 9 3/ 4. The professors took a much smaller train before the students since it was impossible to Apparate to Hogwarts. Once at the station, I noticed Professor Snape standing a little waysdown the platform. I was sufficiently distracted by the striking picture he made, standing stoically on the platform, steam from the train swirling about him, that I got onto the train in a daze and sat in the first compartment I saw. The train was mostly full already, the most of the rest of the professors having arrived earlier to catch up with their fellow professors and friends after the summer. My compartment was empty, saving me from explaining my distraction to my new coworkers. Suddenly the door to the compartment slid open and one Professor Severus Snape stuck his head in.

"Do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere else seems to be full."

I nodded mutely, now struck dumb by the surprise of his closeness and politeness. He sat down and as the train left the platform, we both began reading. I noticed he was reading the latest Potions journal and couldn't help tentatively asking him about an article I had seen in it. After that, we spent the rest of the train ride talking. When we arrived, he carried my trunk for me as we boarded a carriage, still talking. Once in the entrance, he handed my trunk back to me and I smiled at him as we parted ways, me towards the Headmistress' office and he towards his own chambers. His own lips quirked warmly in response.

"I will see you at dinner then, Miss- _Professor_ Granger," he said, smirking warmly at me. My own smile grew a bit in excitement at hearing the new title. His smile and the warmth in his eyes, in such close quarters heated me from the inside and suddenly I was very excited for dinner.


	3. Chapter 3

As the weeks went by, I spent more and more time with Severus. By the end of the first week at Hogwarts we were already on first name terms and I was falling hard for him. By the end of the second week, I was completely in love and hoping he might feel something more than friendship towards me. Little did I know that all the other professors had bets on how long it would take for the two of us to get together.

On Friday of the second week, Severus asked me to have dinner with him, since we had worked late and missed dinner, working on a theoretical potion together. The air that evening was thick with tension and clearing off the table after dinner we bumped into each other, heading towards the sitting room. We paused, staring into each others' eyes... And then we were kissing. We deepened the kiss and he pushed me back against the wall. Our bodies fit snugly against one another and of its own volition my leg slid up the outside of Severus' leg a bit. This caused our bodies to come even closer and he groaned slightly. He pulled back a bit and we both paused to catch our breath.

"Hermione... If you want to take things slow, you'd best tell me now..." he said, his voice a bit strained.

"As long as this isn't a one time thing...?"

"No. I don't want that."

"Then I see no reason to take it slow."

With that, he pulled me close again and kissed me with such passion my knees gave out. He easily lifted me and carried me into his bedroom, never breaking the kiss. In stark contrast to the intensity and persistence of his kisses, he laid me down gently on the bed and joined me, holding himself over me. I started unbuttoning his shirt impatiently and he slid a hand under my shirt, teasing my nipples. Finally all of our clothes were strewn about the room and I could feel the heavenly sensation of his skin against mine. I reveled in this sensation for a moment before my hand skimmed its way down Severus' chest and grasped him firmly. His lips moved from my mouth to my neck, gently sucking and nipping their way down to my chest. He suckled lightly, then more persistently as I gasped in pleasure. I slid my hand up and down along his length and his hand came down between my legs, returning the gesture. Right before I went crashing into orgasmic bliss, Severus pulled away and I growled in frustration. He chuckled breathlessly, then positioned himself at my entrance. He stared into my eyes as he pushed deep within me. Moving slowly at first, we found our rhythm and picked up our pace, until he was pounding into me. The tension built and built inside me as Severus' movements became more erratic until I could hold it back no more. The great ball of pleasure exploded, consuming me entirely and I heard Severus groan as he, too, came to completion. He collapsed on top of me and I held him there, enjoying the feel of his weight above me.

We fell asleep like that, holding each other close and when we woke... well, we didn't leave those rooms for a long time. From then on, our days were spent in much the same way as before, but with the wonderful addition of kissing and touching and cuddling. Our nights held a far more radical and pleasurable change for both of us. My separate quarters quickly became unused and rather than having to Floo back and forth from his rooms to mine for clothes and whatnot, I moved into his rooms.

And have been there ever since.


End file.
